One Blossom after a Harsh Winter
by Almost Perfect Stranger
Summary: When mortal enemies Ash and Paul find a secret spring deep within Mt. Coronet, they find themselves unknowingly falling for each other for the moment. Now Paul carries a secret literally inside him. Will he tell Ash? Yaoi, Mpreg, ComaShipping
1. The Secret of Mt Coronet

Okay so this is my brand new fic that habors my new found love of Comashipping. aka: Ash/Satoshi x Paul/Shinji. Now this is a ShiShi I can actually like XD It also corresponds with the Diamond and Pearl series.

Ash and Paul become trapped in Mt. Coronet where they come upon an enchanted hot spring, (which is actually sake). Passions are sparked and the once mortal enemies do something that they can no longer remember. Now Paul is harboring a secret growing inside him that he doesn't want Ash to know about.

Yes. This is yet another **YAOI **and **MPREG **fic. Don't like it then don't read it. There are plently of fics for all you Pokeshippers out there.

* * *

**The Secret of Mt. Coronet**

Ash Ketchum had been traveling in the Sinnoh region for about five months now. Over the days he spent there, he had made many friends, such as his good friend Dawn, as well as some enemies. One of them being his arch rival, Paul. Ash didn't want to be Paul's enemy but because of his attitude it seemed that he didn't have a choice. He hated the way Paul would treat his Pokémon as objects rather than friends. Ash even adopted his Chimchar that he had released because he did not meet up to his standards. It seemed that the two would never understand each other.

Right now, Ash, Dawn, and Brock were coming down from Snowpoint City after Ash won his seventh gym badge. They planned to pass through Mt. Coronet in order to reach Celestic Town. From there, they would head to the next gym in Sunyshore City.

"Hey guys, listen to this." said Brock while looking through a guide book. "There's a rumor that there's a hidden hot spring inside Mt. Coronet. It says that just breathing in the steam could cause somebody to become attracted to the first person they see."

"Really? I wonder if it actually exists." said Dawn.

"I'd sure like to find it. Cause then I could take Nurse Joy to it and then she'd have to fall in love with me. Maybe she'll even…"

Brock was then met with a sharp pain in his back and became paralyzed. His Croagunk had come out of his Pokéball and stabbed him in the back with Poison Jab. Brock then fell to the ground and Croagunk dragged him off somewhere.

"Oh please." Ash said. "A stupid hot spring can't make someone fall in love with you. Anyway we don't have time to look for it. We have to get to my next gym battle in Sunyshore."

"Pika-pika." agreed his Pikachu

"Don't forget Ash, I also have a contest in Celestic Town." Dawn added in.

"Yeah I know."

About a half an hour went by and the group finally reached Mt. Coronet. Little did they realize, they were being watched by three familiar faces.

"There's the twerp now." said Jessie.

"Just wait until they run into the trap we set up for them." said James.

"And finally will get to take dat Pikachu." said Meowth.

* * *

When they entered the cave, Brock took out a flashlight so that they could see their way through the dark. 

About twenty minutes later, the three felt that they were lost.

"Do you think that maybe we took the wrong path?" Dawn asked.

"I'm pretty sure that we went the right way."

Ash and Pikachu then noticed another person's flashlight up ahead.

"Hey, maybe we can ask that person for directions."

"Pika…"

Ash could only see a silhouette of the person from where he was.

"Excuse me, do you know…"

Once Ash got close enough that he knew this person all too well. It was his rival Paul.

"Uh- Paul! What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask the same thing."

"Well, we were just going to Celestic Town. What about you?"

"That's really none of your damn business."

"Sorry… Just wondering."

"If you idiots wanna go to Celestic Town then you'll want to go down that tunnel. It leads right to it."

"Gee, that's unlike you to be helpful." said Dawn.

"It's not to help you. I just want you to get out of my way. Now, if you'll excuse me…" he said as he pushed passed them.

"What a Prince Charming…" Dawn said sarcastically under her breath.

As Paul walked in the opposite direction, he suddenly disappeared from sight after he fell into a hole.

"Paul!" Ash yelled.

"Pika!" joined in Pikachu.

Ash then ran up to the hole to see if Paul was okay. Unfortunately, his weight made the brittle ground to collapse from underneath him and then he fell into the same hole.

"ASH!" yelled Dawn and Brock.

The two attempted to help Ash but then fell into a second hole near the one he and Paul fell into.

Afterwards they all heard the familiar cackle of Team Rocket.

"Ugh… It's them." Ash said angrily.

"Listen, is that a twerpish voice I hear?" said Jessie as she began the motto.

"It's shrieking to me loud and clear." recited James.

"On the wind…"

"Past the stars…"

"In your ear!" added in Meowth.

"Bringing chaos at a brake-neck pace."

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place."

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet."

"When everything's worse, a work is complete."

"Jessie…"

"And it's James!"

"Meowth, now dat's a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place!"

"We're Team Rocket!"

"We're in your face!" they all said together.

"Wobbu-wobbuffet!" said Jessie's Pokémon, Wobbuffet.

"Mime, mime mime!" said James' Pokémon, Mime Jr.

"Team Rocket!!" yelled Ash, Dawn, and Brock.

"Pi-Pikachu!!" yelled Pikachu.

Paul didn't say anything. He simply stood up and brushed himself off.

"Well, look at what we captured." said Jessie condescendingly. "Four twerps!"

"Looks like we'll be able to make off with even more Pokémon then we thought." said James.

"Get real." Paul said. "Unlike these losers, I'm not going to hand over my Pokémon to you, even bigger losers."

"Why you!" Jessie snapped. "You better close that mouth of yours!"

"I suggest for you to do the same. I can smell your nasty breath from here."

"Arrgh!! Just you wait!"

"Hold it Jess!" said James. "Let's get what we came for first."

"Yeah!" said Meowth.

Meowth then got out a long mechanical arm that had an electricity-proof case attached to the end of it. It swooped down into the hole and snatched Pikachu from Ash's shoulder.

"Pikachu!" Ash screamed.

"Pika-pi!"

"A job well done!"

"Shouldn't we steal the rest of their Pokémon?" asked James.

"I say se take what we've got and get outta here!"

While they were discussing what to do, both Ash and Paul climbed out of the hole.

"Not so fast!"

"Huh?"

"I'm not going to let you take Pikachu away! Go, Staravia!" Ash said as he threw a Pokéball.

"Starravia!" said Ash's Staravia.

"So it's a battle you want." Jessie said. "Then it's a battle you'll get! Go, Seviper!"

"Seviperrrr!" said the snake Pokémon as it appeared from its Pokéball.

"Alright Staravia, let's get Pikachu back! Aerial Ace!"

"Starrraavia!" he cried as he headed at an incredible speed towards Team Rocket.

While all this was happening, Paul turned his back towards Ash and Team Rocket and began to walk away.

_"What a waste of time…"_ he thought.

"Use Poison Tail!" Jessie commanded.

"Seviiperrrr!" it said as its tail began glowing purple.

It was about to his Staravia but it managed to dodge it in time causing Seviper to give a full scale Poison Tail attack to the ground.

At the moment, the cave began to shake. Paul stopped and looked back at what was happening.

"Huh?" Ash said to himself.

"W-what's going on?" James asked.

"Uh-oh…" Meowth said with worry. "I think we may have dug too many holes way too deep and now we're causing the floor to cave in from under us!"

Just then the ground crumbled beneath Team Rocket's feet and they began to fall in an even deeper, seemingly endless pit.

"Ahhh!" they all screamed.

While they were falling, Meowth let go of the case that Pikachu was in. He would have fallen too but luckily for him, Staravia caught him in time.

"Team Rocket's falling out again!!"

They then disappeared into darkness.

However the quake didn't subside just yet. Soon the ground collapsed under Ash's and Paul's feet and then they fell too.

"Ahh!" Ash screamed.

A few seconds later the quakes stopped but not after knocking a bunch of boulders onto the hole that Ash, Paul, and Team Rocket fell in. Finally, Brock and Dawn climbed out of the hole they were stuck in.

"Ash!" Brock yelled.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu also yelled.

They then saw that the hole that they fell through was now covered with many giant rocks that acted as a plug.

"Oh no!" Dawn said. "I hope they're okay…"

"They must have fallen to one of the lower floors of the mountain. We'll have to travel down farther. I just hope that they survived the fall…" Brock said as he clenched his fist.

'Pika-pi…"

* * *

So what cha think of this one? Reviews plz. 


	2. A Rose Hidden in Thorns

Yeah I have it already. I worked on some of it yesterday and the rest of it all day. Hope you enjoy. The chapter was original going to be call "Love Hidden in Hate" but I wanted to be more orginal.

You'll see later on that Brock's Happiny can pick up heavy objects. To prevent confusion for those of you not watching the japanese episodes of Pokemon, Happiny is fucking strong.

One more thing. What happens between Ash and Paul was greatly inspired by an Inuyasha episode were the group went to find sacred sake and became intoxicated by it. Just so you know, it's not pronunced like SAKE. It's pronounced SA-KAY.

R&R please.

* * *

**A Rose Hidden in Thorns**

Ash began to open his eyes soon after the fall. His head hurt a little but otherwise he was fine.

"Uhh… What happened…?" he asked himself. Then he realized that Paul had also fallen. "Paul! Paul, are you here!"

"Will you shut up." said a familiar voice. Paul was apparently okay.

"You okay?"

"Yeah… What ever." he said as he was examining the area.

"Wonder where we are?" Ash wondered.

Paul then began to walk away with out saying a word.

"Hey Paul, wait up! We should stick together!"

"Stay away from me!" he barked.

Ash gasped.

"Every time I'm around you, something bad always happens. Face it. You're a jinx! (_No not the Pokémon_) Now leave me alone and find your own way out."

"Seriously Paul. I think it's much safer if we stick…"

Ash stopped talking when he saw Paul crouch down to the ground and then saw him beginning to massage his ankle. Though he tried not to show it in front of Ash, he was in pain.

"Hey… Are you okay?"

"It's nothing. I'll get over it."

Paul attempted to walk again but the pain got the better of him and he collapsed to the ground.

"Sound's like that ankle is pretty messed up."

"What's it to you?"

"Let me help you." he said as he stretched his had towards Paul's ankle. His helping hand was then met by a hard slap by Paul's. "OW! Whad' you do that for!"

"Back off! I don't need your help! Why would you want to help me of all people? I hate your guts! If I were you, I wouldn't help me. What benefit will you get from it?"

"The benefit of knowing I helped out a fellow trainer in a time of need."

Paul then looked at him curiously.

"I feel sorry for you… You don't understand the value of helping others."

"I don't need your pity… Why would I involve myself in such useless affairs? There's no reward for it."

"The rewards that you receive aren't always material things such as badges or Pokémon. Sometimes they're things that make you feel good inside. Sometimes those are even greater rewards."

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard. Why would anyone help another person out without getting anything in return? It's a waste of time."

"You're Pokémon help you out, don't they?"

Paul then looked at him again.

"How 'bout this? If I help you out just this once, then I promise never to bother or talk to you again once we get out of here."

Paul's eyes then perked.

"Never again? You promise?"

"Never again."

"…Alright…" he said during a sigh.

"Good. Now let's take a look at that ankle."

Paul pulled up his pant leg while Ash carefully removed his shoe and sock.

"Looks a bit swollen…"

Ash then began to feel around Paul's ankle. His face would cringe when Ash pressed firmly.

"Sorry if this hurts a little. Hang in there. I'm just trying to see if you broke anything."

"When did you become a doctor?"

"I've known this stuff for a long time. Brock showed me how to look for brakes after my friend Misty hurt her arm. He's a wiz at this sort of thing."

"And Misty is that blue-haired girl?"

"No that's Dawn. You've never seen Misty before. She's the Cerulean City gym leader."

"Really? She wasn't one of those dumb bimbos who I met when I was in Kanto, was she? They just handed me a badge."

"No… those are her sisters. She recently became gym leader."

"That never sat in my stomach very well. Maybe I could go and battle her some day so that I can have a real challenge."

Ash was then finished with his examination.

"Well luckily I don't think you broke anything. It just seems to be sprained. You should probably not put any weight on it for a while."

"Hm…"

"I just wish I had some medicine with me."

Ash then noticed steam rising a little ways away. When he looked at it more carefully he realized that the steam was coming from a hot spring.

"Hey, that could work!" Ash said. "I bet if we soak your ankle in the warm water for a little while then it would feel a lot better."

"I thought our plan was to escape…"

"Yeah but knowing Brock and Dawn they're probably already looking for us. It's probably better to stay in one place. Besides, you should try to rest for a little while. You're really in no condition to be walking.

"And you promise never to speak to me ever again once we're out of here?"

"Promise." Ash said with a smile.

"Very well…"

Ash helped Paul off the ground and then swung his arm over his shoulder. The two boys then slowly walked over to the hot spring. Once there, Paul removed his other shoe and rolled up his pant leg and then stuck both feet in the water. He pretended to show no reaction but the hot water really helped take the pain away.

"Feel any better?"

"Not really." he lied.

"Just give it time. I'm sure it'll help.

Ash then looked up at the ceiling.

"I wonder how long it'll take them to find us. Hey, I know. I'll get Staravia to help… Oh yeah… Staravia isn't here.

Paul then got out one of his Pokéballs.

"If it'll help get me out of here faster…"

He opened the ball containing his Murkrow.

"Mur-Murkrow!" she said.

"Hey great idea Paul! Murkrow can find them."

"Yeah. And with her nocturnal vision she'll be able to get through this dark mountain way better than your Staravia could."

"Murkrow!"

"Murkrow, I want you to find the dweeb's friends. They're somewhere around here. And don't come back until you find them."

"Krow!" she said as she flew off.

"Now all we can do is wait…"

* * *

Back with Dawn and Brock, Dawn was using her Buneary to try to listen for Ash and Paul with her sensitive ears. Pikachu was also helping by trying to find Ash's sent. Staravia was told to quickly glide down tunnels to see if he saw anything.

"So do you hear anything yet Buneary?" Dawn asked her Pokémon.

"Bunnneary…" she said in dismay as she shook her head.

"What about you Pikachu?" Brock asked.

"Pika…" he said while shaking his head.

"Guess we'll have to keep looking deeper."

* * *

As Ash sat next to Paul, he began to feel very strange. Not an awkward strange but a good strange. It reminded him of when he had some of baby teeth pulled and the dentist had given him laughing gas to help him relax. He didn't have a care in the world.

"Ha ha… Hey Paul, how are you doing over there?"

Strangely, Paul began to feel the same way Ash did.

"I don't… really know… Okay… I guess…"

Paul then started to do something that Ash thought he'd never hear in a thousand years.

"Are you… laughing?" he asked.

"No…" he said as he tried to hold in his laugh.

"Oh my god! You're totally laughing!"

"Am not!" he said as he looked at Ash.

"And you're smiling too! Wow you must really be feelin' good!"

Paul couldn't hold it in any longer and began laughing hysterically with Ash following along.

"I bet it's that water… If it can make a crab-apple like you happy then it must be fantastic…"

Ash then stripped down to his underwear and hopped into the hot spring.

"Oh yeah… That feels wonderful…"

"Don't stay in there too long Ash… Otherwise you'll start to prune."

"You know, I think that's the first time you've ever called me by my name… Usually you call me 'Lame-O' or 'Loser'. How come you're always so mean…?

"I don't know… Guess it's cause I really like you…"

"Really…?"

"Yeah… And seeing you nearly naked is making me like you even more…"

Normally Ash would have been shocked at a comment like that. But at the moment he became flattered.

"Is your ankle feeling any better? Maybe you can join me and we van be nearly naked… together."

"Sound's like a plan…"

Paul didn't hesitate for a minute and took off everything but his underwear and then joined Ash. However Paul's ankle was still a bit sore and putting weight on it made him stumble.

"Whoa, careful."

Ash reacted just in time and Paul fell right into his arms. Paul then shyly looked up at Ash's his face. Both boys' faces turned bright red.

"You okay…" Ash asked.

"I am now…"

Paul then rested his head on Ash's chest.

"I'm sorry for all those times I was awful to you. And to my Pokémon… I'm really grateful that you took my Chimchar in. I'm such a terrible trainer…"

"No your not… You just need a little guidance… And I could be the one to guide you…"

"You'd really do that…?"

"Of course…"

"Thank you so much Ash… Nothing would make me happier than to have you by my side…"

Ash and Paul looked into each others eyes. Ash noticed that the normal cold stare that Paul always had dissipated into a soft, loving gaze. Ash had never seen more beautiful eyes than the once he was staring at right at that moment. The two boys then moved the faces closer and closer to each other until their lips finally touched. After that, Ash's vision became clouded.

* * *

"Oh… It's been three hours already." Dawn whined. "What if we never find them?"

"You can't think that way Dawn." Brock said. "You have to keep believing that that we will find them and that they'll be okay."

"Pi? Pika?" Pikachu squeaked as his ears perked up.

"Did you hear something Pikachu?" Brock asked.

Just then Staravia came from one of the tunnels with another Pokémon following him.

"Starrravia!" he chirped.

"Staravia!" said Dawn. "And… Murkrow?"

"Murkrow!" said the Murkrow.

"I wonder if that's Paul's Murkrow." wondered Brock.

"It has to be!"

"Mur-murkrow!"

"Is Ash with him?"

"Mur!" she nodded. She then took off into the same tunnel.

"She must want us to follow her." Brock said. "Come on!"

It took them a while but Murkrow brought Brock and Dawn to the cave that Ash and Paul were at. Murkrow seemed to have squeezed out of a small hole in the wall of rocks in order to escape in the first place. So they would have to dig to get in there. Brock then called out all three of his Pokémon, Croagunk, Sudowoodo, and Happiny to help break through and move the rocks.

"Alright Croagunk, use Brick Break on the rocks. Sudowoodo, you Mimic Croagunk so that you can use Brick Break as well. Happiny, I want you to help me, Dawn, and the other Pokémon move the rocks. Understood?"

"Croa…"

"Sudowoodo!"

"Happi-happi!"

"Alright then, let's go!"

Croagunk and Sudowoodo began smashing the rocks with Brick Break. The ones that fell off but didn't break were moved out of the way by Happiny and the others.

It took about an extra twenty minutes but they were finally able to break through the wall of rock. At this point, both Croagunk and Sudowoodo were exhausted.

"Great job guys! You disserve a rest." he said as he returned them to their Pokéballs. "Let's go." he told Dawn.

"Right."

It seemed to be one of the biggest rooms that they have seen in the entire mountain. Murkrow flew over their heads and lead them to where Ash and Paul where.

"Ash! Are you alright!" Brock called out.

"Paul! Are you there!" Dawn called out.

"Pika-pi!"

Brock then spotted Ash who appeared to be sleeping. He was wrapped up in a towel and lying on the ground. Brock's heart didn't feel so heavy anymore after he saw that Ash was okay.

"There you are." he said as he approached. "Are you o... HUH!"

Brock noticed that Ash wasn't alone in the towel. He had his arms around Paul who was also in the towel. Both of them were stark naked.

"What's the matter Brock." Dawn asked as she approached.

"NO! Don't look!" Brock then quickly put his hand over her eyes.

"Uh-Hey Brock! What are you doing!"

"This is something that you shouldn't see."

"Oh my god! Is he dead! He's dead isn't he!" she said as she started to cry.

"No, he's not dead. But he will be in a moment… Just keep looking the other way."

"Pi-PIKA!" Pikachu squealed in shock by what he saw.

"Alright you two! The party's over! Get up!" Brock yelled as he kicked the two sleeping boys.

"Ow! What the?" Ash said in a daze. He wasn't fully aware of what was going on. He then saw Brock staring down at him with an angry look. "Oh, hey Brock…" he said during a yawn. "What's up…?"

"What's up! We spent almost FOUR HOURS looking for you, worried sick that something terrible happened to you, and here I find you getting freaky with Paul!"

"Freaky with…? What are you talking… WHA!" Ash then noticed Paul's naked body next to his.

"Ash and Paul are doing WHAT?" Dawn asked with her hands still covering her eyes.

"Brock… I don't know what happened here. Last thing I remember, Paul and I were in the hot spring together."

"Hot spring?"

Ash then pointed over to the hot spring.

"No way… It couldn't be THAT hot spring."

As Brock approached it he noticed a strange scent coming from the spring. It was then he realized that it wasn't water at all but sake. Now he fully understood.

"Oh my god. Both Ash and Paul were intoxicated by the fumes of the sake. This isn't a sacred spring that makes people fall in love. It makes them so high that they don't know what they're doing anymore. We have to get them out of here."

Brock then threw Ash's clothes at him and told him to put them on.

"Make yourself decent in front of Dawn. Now to get lover boy up."

"Leave him alone Brock. During the fall he hurt his ankle and he has a hard time walking. Couldn't you just carry him out?"

"Well… okay. But I'm not carrying him out without his pants on."

Despite everything going on, Paul did not wake up. It seemed possible that he may of drank some of the sake. Brock then quickly sprayed Paul's ankle with some medicine and bandaged it up.

"I tried to help him... I thought that maybe the warm water would help his sprained ankle. I didn't know it was sake. And now he's not waking up… Brock, did I do more harm then good…"

"No, you did a good thing Ash. The swelling seems to have completely disappeared. And don't worry. I'm sure he's going to be fine once he comes to. Well, physically anyway. Not so sure if he'll be so happy once he wakes up."

"Don't worry about that Brock. Paul and I talked and he says he really likes me. I'm sure that wasn't just the sake talking."

"Probably not but don't be surprised if he doesn't want to admit to anything."

Brock then carried Paul on his back. Both Ash and Dawn followed. Staravia and Murkrow were asked to look up ahead to try to find a way out of Mt. Coronet. Luckily for them, the two bird Pokémon quickly discovered a tunnel that led to day light.

"Alright!" Dawn said. "Now we can finally get out of here."

* * *

After exiting the mountain, the bright sun light shined on Paul's face, causing him to slowly wake up. It took him a second to realize that his shirt was missing. Confused and angered he jumped off of Brock's back, nearly causing him to fall on his face.

"Paul! You're awake!" Ash said in surprised.

"Where the hell am I? Where's my shirt!"

"You mean… You don't remember what happened?"

"Remember what? All I remember is sending Murkrow to find your friends."

Brock approached Ash and whispered something in his ear.

"I think it's best you don't tell him what happened. I don't think he'd take it very well."

"But it wouldn't be right not to tell him."

"Tell me WHAT?"

"That hot spring that we found wasn't really filled with water. It was filled with sake. You and I became intoxicated and you did and said some things that you may not remember…"

"What…?"

"I remember you telling me that you didn't really hate me but that you really were in love with me and wanted to change your ways."

"…"

"And then you started hugging and kissing me and… well that's about all I can remember before I woke up next to you naked."

Paul just gave Ash the same cold stare for a couple seconds. Then without any warning, he punched Ash in the nose so hard that it knocked the bone out of place.

"ASH!" his friends screamed in horror.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu screamed.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked as he lay there on the ground.

"You disgusting, perverted BASTARD!" Paul yelled with rage. "How dare you take advantage of me while I was wasted on sake! You're one sick son of a bitch!"

"Don't look at me! You're the one who came on to me!"

"Let's get one thing straight! I don't like you and I certainly don't…" he cringed upon saying the word, "…love you! In fact, I hate you! Don't even think for a minute that I would EVER be interested in someone like you! I wouldn't hesitate to go to the police about this but then I'd have to live with the embarrassment of everyone knowing that you violated me!"

He then picked up his back pack off the ground that Ash had dropped when he punched him. He returned Murkrow to her Pokéball and began to limp down the mountain. But he said one more thing before he left.

"Remember your promise. You are NOT to come near me anymore, you got that? If you do, then I'll break more than just your nose."

Ash's face then turned pale. Paul then put on his jacket and continued to go down the mountain.

"Well… that went well…" Brock said.

"Ouch…" Ash said as he held his nose.

"I think we should head to the hospital in Celestic Town to get that fixed."

"Ash, did Paul really say and do all those things? You sure you weren't just imagining it?" Dawn asked.

"Yes. I know I wasn't imagining it. Why would I imagine something like that?"

"Obviously Paul is forcing his kind side to the back of his consciousness." Brock said. "Because of the sake, Paul wasn't able to keep it back and that's why he acted that way. I think he really does want to be a good person deep down and that was probably is subconscious trying to tell you that he needed your help."

"Wow… never realized it would be that complicated.

* * *

Ouch. Looks like Paul's not ready to open up. Commentz!


	3. Ship of Truths

Wow would you look at that. Chapt 3 already. I'm really on a role with this story. I hope I can keep it up. From this chapter, you'll learn one thing. Dawn can't keep secrets XD She also has a bad memory. Also there's some one-sided Appealshipping in here. If you don't know what that is you'll find out soon enough.

* * *

**Ship of Truths**

About two months had passed since Ash last saw Paul. Over this time period, Ash had won his last badge and was ready for the Pokémon League.

Right now, the gang was leaving the Grand Festival that Dawn had competed in. Unfortunately she didn't win the Winner's Cup but came in best eight. They were also joined by Dawn's friend and rival, Zoey. She came in best sixteen after she lost to Dawn.

"Don't worry Dawn." Ash said. "You did great."

"Yeah!" agreed Zoey. "A lot of people don't make it that far on their first try."

"Thanks you guys… But I still wish I could've done better. But I guess I'll have to work harder next year." she said with a smile.

* * *

Later on, the four trainers headed to a port that would take them to the Pokémon League. Once they got on the ship, Ash had to answer Nature's Call. 

"Scuse me for a second. I need to take a leak."

"Ash, we didn't need that much information." Dawn said.

"See ya in a minute."

"Man, I'll never understand boys…" Zoey said.

Once Ash reached the restroom, he heard someone in one of the stalls. It sounded as if this person was sick. He was retching and coughing. Ash could also hear the sound of vomit splashing into the toilette. Soon he heard the toilette flush. Once the stall door opened, Ash became shocked by who it was.

"Paul…?"

Paul looked up after wiping the drool off his face with his sleeve and became disgusted by the sight of Ash standing in front of him.

"I don't frickin believe it… As if I didn't feel sick enough already. I thought we had an agreement."

"Well sorry… But this boat does go to the Pokémon League."

"Great…"

Paul then went to the sink and washed his hands and face.

"You don't sound so good… Are you coming down with the flu?"

"…No… I'm just sea sick…" he sighed

"But we didn't even leave the dock yet."

"What's with the damn interrogation? The agreement was that you would never talk to me AGAIN. So stay the hell away from me. I don't want to see you within 10 feet of me."

Paul left the bathroom.

After Ash was finished, he rejoined his friends.

"Hey guys, guess who's on the ship."

"Um… Let me guess… Paul?" said Brock.

"Right…"

"Who's Paul?" asked Zoey.

"Paul is Ash's rival." Dawn explained. "But they're not friends like you and me. Paul is an arrogant, selfish little brat who mistreats his Pokémon."

"So what'd he say to you?" Brock asked.

"Just that he didn't want me near him. But I am a little worried about him. When I was in the bathroom, I heard him vomiting violently. He said it's just sea sickness but I don't think that's the case."

"Ash, take my advise this time. Do not try to talk to him. He's obviously an unstable boy and I don't want him to shove you of the side of this ship. Just stay away from him. You got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go check out the buffet. Come on Pikachu."

"Pika-pika!"

"That Ash…" sighed Dawn. "Always thinking about his stomach."

"And I'm gonna check out the girls!" said Brock as he could no longer contain himself around all the pretty Pokémon trainers."

"Like I said before, I'll never understand boys." Zoey commented.

"No need to worry. I'm sure Croagunk will stop him."

"Why is Ash so concerned about that Paul guy anyway? Form what it sounds like, Paul doesn't even give a damn about him."

"Well it's a long story… Ash sort of has a crush on Paul."

"Really? I never knew Ash was gay."

"Neither did he up until two months ago. Now he likes Paul but Paul doesn't want to like him back."

"I understand how Ash feels… Being in love with one of your rivals but there's nothing you can do to make them love you back. It's really hard to deal with."

"You're in love with one of you rivals? Who is it. Come on. You can tell me. I won't tell anyone else."

"I think it's best if I don't tell you… Things might become awkward between us if I did."

"Oh… Okay then."

* * *

After the ship left the port, Paul decided to take a walk around the deck hoping that his nausea would go away. He had lied to Ash about it being sea sickness. Truthfully, he had felt this way for over a week. And he knew the reason why. 

Being out on deck didn't help very much either. As he walked down the deck, he felt as if the ship was extremely swaying from side to side when in reality is was only moving a little. Paul then felt the contents of his stomach rush up his esophagus. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, ran over to the railing, and vomited over the side of the ship. He continued for about twenty more seconds before he finally picked his head up. Much to his embarrassment, everyone on the deck was staring at him. Paul then walked away while staring at the deck, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

_"Just great…"_ he thought _"Now I'm going to be remembered as 'the boy who puked on the ship' rather than be remembered for my Pokémon skills…"_

Paul decided to go back to his room for the rest of the evening to try to get some sleep. However, sleep didn't come easy for him. He laid there in the dark with his eyes wide open. He then went into deep thought as he had his arms wrapped around his stomach.

_"Why did this have to happen now…? I'm so close to the Pokémon League. Maybe I should just get rid of it. But would that be fair to him…? Screw him! It's his fault for taking advantage of me. Anyway, I'll deal with it after I become champion…"

* * *

_

Later Ash was on the deck near the bow of the ship looking at all the stars in the sky. Pikachu was sitting on his head watching them as well.

"We finally made it Pikachu. Were finally on our way to the Sinnoh Conference. And this time I know we're going to leave with the championship title!"

"Pikachu!"

"And there's no way I could of done it with out you, Staravia, Grotle, Ambipom, and the others. You guys are true friends."

"Pika…" he said while blushing.

"So there you are." said a voice from behind.

"Huh? Oh Zoey. What are you doing out here?"

"Just came to tell you that they're holding a huge banquet for all the Pokémon trainers competing in the Sinnoh Conference. There's lots of food there."

"Ew… No thanks. I filled up too much at the buffet." he said as he patted his stomach.

Zoey then leaned again the railing of the ship and looked up at the sky.

"So Dawn tells me you have a crush on your rival."

"Dawn told you that huh…? I guess you can say that. I just can't stand the way he acts."

"If you don't like the way he acts than what made you attracted to him?"

"It happened when we where in Mt. Coronet. We inhaled the fumes of a spring filled with sake. When he was intoxicated he told me all these things that he would never normally tell me. He said that he was in love with me and he wanted to travel with me. But that all changed once he sobered up and denied everything. He said he only said those things because he was wasted."

"I hate it when people say that. I believe when people are drunk then they expose all their true feelings. Just look at Mel Gibson."

"I just wish he'd be like that all the time…"

"Well at least you know he likes you deep down. Me? I spend all my time wondering if my rival thinks of me as more than a friend."

"Your rival?"

"Yeah…" she said as her eyes dreamily squinted.

"It's Dawn, isn't it?"

Zoey was silent.

"I knew you liked her."

"Well… would you happen to know if she would like me?"

"Well, I can't say that she wouldn't. I really don't know what she's into. She's never shown attraction to any gender. Way different from the other girls I traveled with., she seems very indifferent about romance. Sort of like how I was. I suggest that you wait a little bit longer and see if she gives any hints."

"I guess that could work. Thanks Ash."

"No problem. Say, why don't we go down to the banquet? I think I have enough room for a little more dinner."

"Don't go exploding on me."

The two trainers laughed as they headed below deck.

* * *

Later, Dawn tried to head back to her room in order to retrieve something. However, she forgot exactly were her room was. 

"Oh man… Now where was it?"

Dawn stopped for a moment to think. She just so happened to stop in front of a slightly open door. She heard a voice coming from inside and immediately recognized it as Paul's. She peered inside a little to confirm what she thought.

Paul was sitting on the bed turned towards the wall. He apparently was on the phone with somebody. Dawn knew that eavesdropping was very rude but being that she felt Paul was a rude person, she figured she had a right. She remained perfectly quiet and listened.

"… Yes, I've been puking up my guts for nearly a week…" he said to who ever was on the phone. "…I never thought it would be this hard… No… I haven't told him… Well why should I…? …Yes, I know he's the father but still… …What!? No way I'm dropping out of the league. I'm not going to let this stupid pregnancy keep me from competing.

Dawn became shocked be what she heard.

_"Pregnancy?!"_ she thought.

Just then, Zoey, who had been looking for her, approached from behind and tapped her.

"Hey Dawn. What's umm!!?"

Dawn had placed her hand over her mouth to keep her voice down. Dawn placed her finger to her lips and made a shhh-ing sound.

"What are you…?" Zoey whispered.

"Be quiet!" Dawn whispered loudly. "He'll hear you!"

Paul began to hear the sounds they were making. Though he wasn't sure what was making them.

"…Can you hold on a second?" he told the person on the phone.

Paul approached the door and saw that he didn't close it all the way. He then opened the door wider and looked outside. But he didn't see anyone. Little did he know, Dawn and Zoey were on the other side of his opened door. They were being sandwiched together against the wall. Dawn was worried that Paul would see them. Zoey on the other hand was becoming more turned on then worried. Dawn was against her body while laying her head on her chest. Never had she been this close to her. When Paul believed no one was there, he went back inside his cabin and closed the door this time. The two girls regained their space. Zoey wiped away the sweat from her forehead. Then Dawn grabbed her hand and dragged her down the corridor.

"What the heck was that all about!?" Zoey asked. "Who was that!?"

"It was Paul! I was trying to listen to what he was saying over the phone."

"Dawn, that's an invasion of privacy! You shouldn't do that."

"I have to talk to Ash. It's important."

* * *

Dawn and Zoey retrieved Ash and Brock from the banquet. This time Brock brought them back to the correct cabin. 

"Dawn, what's this about?" Brock asked.

"Ash, Paul's been keeping something from you! I heard him say it!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down Dawn." Ash told her. "Now start over slowly…"

"I heard Paul talking to some one over the phone… He was saying how sick he was and about not telling somebody about something… And then he said he wouldn't drop out of the competition because of his pregnancy."

"PREGNANCY!?" said Ash, Brock, and Zoey.

"How is that possible?" asked Brock. "Guys can't get pregnant. Are you sure he didn't say something else?"

"I heard it clearly! That's definitely what he said. He even said and I quote 'Yes, I know he's the father'. And I bet anything that the father is you Ash."

"M-m-me…?" he stuttered.

"He was planning not to tell you about it. Ash, you have to confront him about it. What if he decides to abort the baby without your consent?"

"Hold it Dawn." Brock interrupted. "This is clearly a delicate situation. It's not the best thing for Ash to just confront him about it with no clear warning. It's best if Ash waits and sees if Paul decides to talk to Ash. If it really is Ash's baby, then I'm sure he'll want to tell Ash sooner or later."

"I'm not so sure about that Brock…" said Ash. "Paul made it pretty clear that he never wanted to talk to me again… What if he really does abort the baby and pretends like nothing happened?"

"I… don't know… I really don't know what you can do."

Ash was silent for a second as he looked at the floor.

"I'm going to go talk to him." he said as he made his way to the door.

"No Ash!" Brock said as he grabbed his arm. "Trust me on this. Do not let him know that you know. Confronting him out of the blue will just upset him. You believe in Paul, right? Then believe that he'll get up the courage to come talk to you about this. I'm sure if he has the heart that you say he has, then he won't just get rid of the baby without talking to you first."

Ash was staring straight into Brock's eyes while he was saying.

"Brock's right Ash." said Zoey. "Remember what I said. One's true feelings come out when they're drunk. And if Paul said he loved you, then it's probably true."

"Pika-pi…" said his Pikachu.

"Yeah… That's right. Paul will eventually reveal his secret to me. And when he does, I'll be supportive."

"That's a good idea." Brock said. "Isn't that right, Dawn?"

"…Yeah… I guess so. Sorry for freaking you out Ash…"

"It's alright. I know that wasn't your intension."

* * *

After that, the four trainers decided to head back to the banquet. Once there Ash scanned the room to see if Paul may have come out to eat. However, he didn't see him anywhere. Ash then started to worry. He realized that it was important for Paul to be eating normally in his condition. Then he came up with a plan. 

He asked Dawn if she remember which room number Paul was staying in. Dawn couldn't remember but Zoey did. It was pretty much implanted in her memory after she stared at it while she was getting off on Dawn being squished next to her body. "#26 B". Ash then gathered a few pieces of different kinds of food and put it on a big plate. He then brought the plate to Paul's cabin. He placed the plate on the floor and knocked hard on Paul's door. He then dashed down the hall so he wouldn't be seen.

Paul, who was awakened by the loud knock, slowly opened the door.

"What in the world?" he said as he rubbed his head. "No one's here…"

When he went to shut the door he noticed the plate of food sitting off to the side. He picked up and stared at it for a little bit. He then looked up and down the hall. He didn't see, but Ash was watching him from around a corner. Paul then picked up a piece of the fruit on the plate and took a bite. He then took the food in to his cabin before closing the door. Ash giggled a little bit before leaving. He was happy to see Paul enjoying something.

* * *

Aww wasn't that last seen shweeet! Review plz. 


	4. Path to the Championship

Well finally finished chapter 4. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

**Path to the Championship**

The ship finally reached the Sinnoh Conference after a three day journey. Once the ship docked, all the trainers headed for the plateau in order to register. Ash didn't feel right about entering knowing that Paul was pregnant. But Brock advised him to act as if everything was normal so Paul wouldn't be suspicious.

Ash and friends then got in the huge line that led into the registration building.

"You guys don't have to wait here if you want. It's gonna take a while for me to get up there."

"It's not a big deal." said Brock. "We want to be supportive."

"Really?"

"Don't lie Brock." said Dawn. "I bet he just wants to meet all the girls."

"What, I can't be supportive and get girls at the same time?"

Croagunk then came out of his Pokéball and sent stabbed Brock in his side.

"DAH! That hurt!"

He then fell to the ground and Croagunk dragged him away.

"Croooa…gunk… Croooa…" he croaked.

"That is one possessive Pokémon." said Zoey.

About an hour later, Ash finally reached the registration desk. He handed the receptionist his Pokédex and showed her his eight badges.

"So…Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town is it?"

"Yes ma'am.

"Just give me a sec… Okay! You're all set." She then handed back his Pokédex. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

Ash then rejoined his friends.

"Well, the preliminaries don't start until tomorrow, so we've got the whole day to ourselves."

"Great!" Dawn said. "So why don't we get a bite to eat?"

"Good idea. I'm starving." said Brock.

While they were talking, Ash saw Paul out of the corner of his eye. He was alone of course. He was scanning his Pokéballs with his Pokédex probably to try to figure out who he should use for tomorrow. Ash wished that Paul wouldn't participate. He would even willingly drop out too if it meant Paul wouldn't join. He was only concerned that the stress might do him harm to himself and his baby. Paul turned his eyes away from his Pokédex and looked right at Ash. Ash in turn looked down at his feet quickly.

_"Don't stare at him Ash!"_ he thought to himself. _"Remember, act normal."_

Ash inhaled a deep breath and looked up again… only to find that Paul was now standing right in front of him.

"Ahh! Uh-Paul! Uh hey… How's it going!?"

Paul was silent for a moment. Brock, Pikachu, Dawn, and Zoey were looking on in anticipation. Would this be the moment?

"Do you… think we can talk?"

"Sure… What about?"

"Just meet me by the clock tower… Come alone…"

"Uh… Okay…"

Paul then left the building. Ash turned back towards his friends.

"You see…" said Brock. "I told you he'd tell you."

"Yeah… Wow I'm just so relieved… But also nervous."

"It'll be fine…"

* * *

Ash left his friends behind like he said he would and went to the clock tower where Paul was waiting. He was leaning against it with his arm crossed. Ash walked to him slowly. 

"Hey." Ash said.

"Hey…"

"So… what is it you want to speak to me about?"

"I just wanted to tell you that…"

Ash's eyes widened.

"…that… I'm sorry for being such a jerk…"

"Wha…?"

"I realized that… all this time you just wanted to be friends with me… Well… not sure if that's going to happen but just know… that I respect you…"

"Thanks… Paul. What made you change…?"

"Just had a revelation while on the ship…"

"Well… just know that when you ready to be friends, your always welcome."

"Sure… what ever."

"Umm… sure that's the only thing you need to tell me?"

Paul gave him a cold stare.

"What do you mean by that…?"

"N-nothing! Hey! See you at the Conference tomorrow right?"

"Sure…"

He then stood up straight and began to walk towards the sunset.

_"Well… he didn't tell me… But I least I know he doesn't hate me anymore."_

Paul was going to head back to the Pokémon Center to rest up for tomorrow. However something was burdening him. He placed a hand on his stomach and thought:

_"Damn, why didn't I tell him…? Well at least I broke the ice."_

Ash met his friends at the restaurant that Dawn had wanted to go to. He explained to them what happened.

"I thought for sure he was going to tell me about the pregnancy…"

"Well look on the bright side." said Zoey. "Maybe this is his way of breaking down the barrier between you and him and then he'll feel more comfortable about telling you."

"Pikachu." said Ash's Pokémon

"I guess that's true. I just wish he'd tell me before tomorrow."

* * *

The next day came and Paul still didn't tell him. However that didn't stop Ash from an early morning training session. Once finished he headed down to the battle arena. 

The preliminary rounds were battles to help weed out the wimps from the winners. These battles would narrow down the 1500 some odd trainers down to just 50. Both Ash and Paul got through it with flying colors. The fifty finalists would then be placed against one another in a tournament. Who ever was left standing at the end would be crowned champion, and have a free ticket to battle the Elite Four and Champion Cynthia.

"Oh man, I am totally siked!" Ash said with excitement. "I can't wait to see who my next opponent is!

"Look. They're gonna show the pairings for the tournament." Dawn said as she pointed at the large screen in the arena lobby.

On the other side of the arena, Paul was deciding which Pokémon to use for his first tournament battle when the announcement came out.

_"May we have your attention please."_ said the announcer. _"By random selection, we have paired all 50 participants. Here are your opponents."_

A tourney chart appeared on screen showing everyone opponents. Ash quickly scanned the board to find his next opponent. He found himself on the chart. He took at look at the trainer he was to battle and his heart jumped to his throat. It was Paul. _(OH WHO DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING!)_

"Oh no… No, no… It can't be… Please no…"

Brock, Dawn, and Zoey had worried expressions on their faces.

Paul saw the chart as well. But his reaction was way different.

"Alright Ketchum, better not disappoint me…"

Their battle would be the 10th one so they had some time to spare. While Paul was planning strategies Ash was going crazy.

"I can't fight Paul." he said to his friends while pulling on his hair. "Not knowing that he's carrying my child. What'll I do…"

"You were right Zoey…" said Dawn sadly. "I should of never eavesdropped. Then we wouldn't have this problem."

"Don't blame yourself Dawn…" Ash said while wiping tears from his eyes. "I am glad that I know… I'm just worried that battling him might actually harm him… Brock… What do you think I should do?"

"Well… I'm not really sure… But Paul is going to be fighting other trainers besides you. So even if you drop out, there's still a risk. I guess the only thing that might work is… telling him that you know… and to try to convince him to stop. But I doubt that it'll work. All and all… it's really up to you."

"Hmm…"

* * *

After the nine battles passed by, it was time for Ash and Paul to have their battle. Ash had decided to just battle Paul and prayed that nothing would happen. The two boys enter the stadium from opposite sides. Ash had Pikachu by his side as he always did. When Ash saw Paul coming closer, he got a lump in his throat. Brock, Dawn, and Zoey were watching from the bleachers above. 

"It's now the 10th battle of the Sinnoh Conference tournament!" said the announcer over a loud speaker. In the green corner, we have Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town! In the red corner, Paul from Veilstone City! It is a three-on-three Pokémon battle with no time limit!"

"Please select your Pokémon." said the referee.

Paul threw out his Pokéball

"Electabuzz! Go!"

Paul's electric Pokémon came out of his ball.

"Bbbeeerruu!" he cried.

Ash hesitated for a minute. He couldn't move his hand to choose what Pokémon he would use.

"Young man, you need to choose you're Pokémon now." the referee told Ash.

"I…" he said while trying to think.

Ash still wouldn't move. His eyes then wondered around the stadium at all the people in the crowd. Then he turned his eyes back to Paul.

"Pika-pi…?" said his worried Pikachu.

"What the hell's he doing?" Paul asked himself.

"Oh no…" said Brock. "He's paralyzed."

The crowd then became angered by Ash's inability to do what the referee said.

"What is this!?" said one angry crowd member.

"I didn't come all the way from Mahogany Town to see this!" said an angry woman.

"Do something!!"

"You suck!!"

"There seems to be a problem with the green corner." said the announcer. "I'm not sure what it is but Ketchum needs to make a decision fast."

Ash was now dripping with sweat. He was just too worried about what would happen to Paul. And with the pressure of the audience he needed to think of something fast.

"This is your final warning." said the ref. "Choose your Pokémon now or you will be disqualified."

_"You better not quit on me Ketchum!"_ Paul thought.

_"I… can't move… I can't do this!"_ thought Ash.

Ash then did something not seen in the Sinnoh Conference in over 50 years. He raced his left arm in the air. In a Pokémon battle, that's the signal letting everyone know that you forfeit. Everyone in the arena gasped.

"Folks, this is an astonishing turn of events!!" the announcer said. "The green member, Ash Ketchum, has forfeited the battle! That means that red member, Paul, automatically advances to the second round!"

Ash felt like the lowest person in the world at that moment. Now he just wished he had never registered to compete. In a Pokémon battle, it is a great disgrace to forfeit a match only when you have not made one move. Ash had to live with the guilt that there could have been somebody to be in the league who would have tried their hardest.

"Oh no…" said Dawn with her hands covering her mouth.

Brock and Zoey closed their eyes in dismay and turned their heads down._ (Yeah I know, Brock's eyes are always closed)_

"Electabuzz return!" Paul said with an annoyed voice.

Paul walked a little bit closer to Ash to so that he would hear what he'd have to say. Ash looked up from the ground and right at Ash's face.

"You are pathetic." he said to Ash. "To think I almost respected you…" Then he turned and walked out of the stadium.

Ash just dropped to his knees and kept his eyes on the ground.

"Pika-pi…" said Pikachu.

"Get him off the field already!" yelled an audience member.

Ash in turn picked up Pikachu and ran out of the arena. Brock, Dawn, Zoey decided to get out of their seats to try to look for him. They needed to push past all the shocked and angry audience members.

"Hey, where is yous guys going?" asked a man who was sitting next to him.

"We need to make sure our friend is okay." Dawn said.

"Dat jerk is your friend!? Hey everybody! Take a look at da friends of da loser!"

The people around them started booing them.

"Tell dat idiot he should do us all a favor and walk off a cliff!"

"That's enough!!" Brock screamed with anger. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves! You're acting like barbarians!"

The people around then fell silent.

"I hope you're happy…"

Ash's friends found him and Pikachu in the locker room of the arena. He was sitting on one of the benches, his head in his hands, with Pikachu right by his side. He was also crying. He heard the three approach.

"Ash…" Brock said softly.

"Please leave me alone… A loser like me doesn't disserve friends like you…"

Brock sat on the bench beside him and put a hand on Ash's back.

"You're not a loser…"

"That's not what the crowd said."

"Screw the crowd… Ash, you did what you felt was best."

"Now Paul hates me again for quitting on him. I'm just so confused. I didn't know what to do out there…"

"Pikachu…" said Pikachu sadly.

Ash tried hard to suppress his tears but couldn't. Brock then took him in his arms and hugged him.

"There's nothing wrong with what you did. If Paul only knew the reason why you didn't want to battle him then I'm sure he would understand. I think that later you should try to explain why you did what you did."

"I hope I can get the chance to…"

* * *

Two days later… 

Ash had decided to stay in the area until the tournament was over. He wanted a chance to tell Paul how he felt about him before he had to leave. Right now, Ash was in his hotel room. His mother had called him after watching what happened on television.

"Are you okay honey?" she asked. "What exactly happened out there? Professor Oak and the others were wondering too."

"Well… It's a real long story… It's really not that easy to explain it over the phone."

"Who was that boy you were going to battle?"

"That was Paul. You know, the one I've told you about."

"He was THAT Paul? The one who you got your Chimchar from?"

"Yep…"

"Did he have something to do with this?" she asked in an angry voice. "Did he threaten you?"

"No, no. I mean, yeah he had something to do with it but he didn't threatened me."

"Then what did he do?"

"I can't tell you… Not yet any way. It's all so complicated… Look, I promise that I'll explain everything to you once I get back to Pallet. Is that okay?"

"I suppose… Just please take care of yourself… Okay?"

"Sure."

"I love you. Please come home soon."

"Okay I will. Love you too."

The two said good bye to each other and hung up the phone. He then heard Dawn call him from the living room.

"What's up?" he asked her.

"Paul has made it to the semi finals. He's battling right now."

Curious, Ash sat on the couch along with Dawn, Brock, and Zoey as they all watched the television.

* * *

Paul was in the middle of a double battle between another boy. Paul was using his Weavile and Torterra and the boy was using Drifblim and Rhyperior. 

"Torterra! Use Giga Drain! Weavile, use Ice Beam!" he directed.

"Toorte!!" roared Torterra.

"Weavile!" yelled Weavile.

"Alright Rhyperior! Use Iron Defense! Drifblim, use Double Team!" said the boy.

"Drifff…" said the Drifblim as it made shadow copies of itself.

Weavile unfortunately fired an Ice Beam at a fake Drifblim. He continued to use Ice Beam trying to find the real one.

Rhyperior initiated its Iron Defense. However, it did little to protect itself against Giga Drain. It fainted instantly.

"Rhyperior is down and out from Torterra's Giga Drain. The red corner will have to think of a new strategy with only one Pokémon." the announcer said.

"Good job Rhyperior. You disserve a rest." the boy said as he returned it to its Pokéball.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Paul told his Weavile.

"Weeea…" he said while charging up his Shadow Ball. "VILE!"

The Shadow Ball was fired. But because of Drifblim's raised evasiveness, the attack missed.

"Drifblim, use Ominous Wind!"

The balloon-ghost Pokémon then whipped up a dark wind which struck both Weavile and Torterra.

Then something strange happened to Paul. His head started to hurt and the arena seemed to be spinning around him. He tried to command his Pokémon while trying to see straight. He shook his head trying to rid himself of the dizziness.

"Torterra us Frenzy Plant!"

"Torrter!" said the giant tortoise as he made strange tree roots shoot up from the ground.

"Dodge it Drifblim!" said the other trainer.

"Drif!" it said as it moved out of the way.

"Thought you'd do that. Now Weavile, come behind Drifblim and use Faint Attack!!"

"What!?"

Weavile came quickly behind Drifblim and struck it with a full on Faint Attack.

"DRIF!" it screamed in pain as it went crashing to the ground.

To make things worse for the Drifblim, Torterra's Frenzy Plant was still in place and it became caught up in the roots receiving massive damage.

Paul's condition wasn't getting any better. His legs began to feel weak and he struggled just to stand up.

Amazingly, the Drifblim still had some stamina left and it weakly made itself airborne.

"What!? No way!"

Ash and friends also saw what happened and were quite surprised as well.

"That is one strong Drifblim." Zoey commented.

"That guy must of raised it very well." Brock said.

_"Come on Paul… You can do it."_ Ash thought.

"Weavile… use…"

Before Paul could finish his command, his dizziness took a turn for the worst. His brain felt as if it was being rattled around in his head. Then his knees no longer had the strength to hold him up. He fell backwards before hitting his head on the ground and blacking out. The audience gasped in horror.

"PAUL!!" Ash screamed.

* * *

Oh no! What's wrong with Paul? Stay tuned. Review please. 


	5. The One Who Cares

Sorry i didn't update in a while. took me awhile to plot out the events of this chapter. But it's just intime for the new year.

I'm also working on the 18th chapter of COAL. Not sure when it'llbe done but keep an eye out.

Oh and just to point out, the doctor in the story is name after one of the 4kids voice actors. she was always one of my favs.**

* * *

**

**The One Who Cares**

**

* * *

**

Just as Paul was about to win the semi final battle, he suddenly collapsed on the field. Both of Paul's Pokémon turned around to see their trainer on the ground unconscious. Both of them approached him to see his condition.

"We have an emergency out on the field!" the announcer said with strain in his voice. "The green challenger, Paul, seems to be in distress!"

Worried, Paul's Torterra nudged his shoulder gently with his beak to see if he would wake up. Much to his dismay, he didn't.

"Oh my god…" Ash said as he put his hands over his mouth.

Dawn, Brock, and Zoey were also watching with worry.

Soon the paramedics rushed on to the field. First they checked Paul's breathing, heart, and pulse. His heart and pulse seemed okay but his breathing was a bit labored. They immediately put him on oxygen and there moved him on to a stretcher. The paramedics then carried him off the field and into an awaiting ambulance.

"Let's hope that he will be alright…" the announcer said. "Being that Paul is unable to complete his battle, unfortunately, it stands as an automatic forfeit. That means the red challenger Eric moves on to the final round."

"Brock! Where's the hospital around here!? I have to be there!"

"Uh! I think it's down on Victory Street. You could probably get there in a half an hour on foot."

"That'll have to do!"

Back at the arena, a man and woman wearing green shirts appeared on the field. They were professional Pokémon breeders. They appear at the conference every year. Anytime that something happens to one of the participants, they come to take care of the Pokémon that get left behind when a trainer is unable to return them to their Pokéballs. The man took care of Paul's Torterra while the woman took care of his Weavile.

"Don't worry…" the male breeder said to Torterra as he petted him on the head. "I'm sure he'll be okay."

"We'll be sure to take good care of you until we can get you back to him." said the woman gently to Weavile as she stroked under his chin.

Weavile and Torterra then looked at each other then looked back at the path that their trainer was taken. Both of them had worried expression on their faces.

* * *

Ash had ran the entire way to the hospital without stopping for a break. He didn't even wait for traffic lights and carelessly jumped in front of moving cars in order to cross streets. All and all he made it there in 18 minutes. He stopped for a moment at the front door in order to catch his breath. Ash then proceeded into the hospital.

Inside the receptionist at the counter was in the middle of a phone call when Ash surprised her by slamming his hands on the desk.

"What the?!" she said.

"Miss… please… I need to know where the Pokémon trainer who was brought here was taken…" he said while still out of breath.

"You need to wait over there. Another patient is on the ph…"

"Please! It's important!"

"Young man, I can't just tell you where someone was taken. I need to confirm that you know him. Now sit down over there or I'll call security."

"… All right…"

* * *

Back at the stadium, the battles for that day had ended so the clean up crew was sent in. However, three members of the crew weren't exactly there pick up trash. Team Rocket had disguised themselves in order to sneak in to the arena.

"So, it looks like that little twerp got what he disserved." Jessie said. "Serves him right for calling me a loser and saying I have terrible breath!"

"Hey, you can't blame the kid for telling da truth." Meowth said under his breath.

Jessie turned around quickly and then began to pull on Meowth's whiskers.

"What did you just say!?" she screamed.

"Ehh!! Nothing!"

"Jessie, why are we still here?" James asked. "The finals aren't until tomorrow so there won't be any Pokémon to steal."

"Since the twerp couldn't recall his Pokémon back, they are being kept hear at the stadium with very little security. Just think. We could have are very own Torterra and Weavile!"

"Hey yeah! And since the good twerp has been kicked out of the competition there will be no body to stop us!"

"With two knew Pokémon on are side will be able to capture Pikachu with no problem. And then the world will bow at are feet."

It had been almost two hours since Ash had arrived at the hospital. Each minute that past by seemed like an eternity to him. He had finally had enough with waiting and marched up to the reception counter.

"Excuse me." he said.

"I thought I told you to wait." said the receptionist.

"Look I'm just very worried about my friend I and want to know his condition. Please, if I just find out that he's doing alright then I'll happily leave."

"Very well… What's your friend's name?"

"Paul."

"Last name?"

"Uhh… I don't know."

"You mean to tell me you don't know your friend's last name?"

"I don't know the last names of any of my friends."

She then sighed.

"He was the Pokémon trainer who was brought in here earlier who was brought in from the Pokémon League after he collapsed."

"That doesn't prove to me that you know him."

Ash got an angry look on his face and then clenched his teeth. He then looked to the left and right of him. He saw that there were stairs not too far from him. That's when he decided to make a run for it.

"HEY!" said the receptionist. But he was already gone. She then dialed a number on her phone. "Yes, security…"

As Ash ran up the stairs something came to light; he had no idea where he was running to. However the sign of the third floor read "Recovery Ward". Ash thought that there could be a chance that Paul could have been already taken care of and put into a room.

When Ash stepped on to the floor he wanted to look around the place seeing if he could find any hints on where Paul was. Unfortunately he didn't know where to start. He decided to just walk around a little bit to see if he could get any clues.

* * *

Brock had suggested to Dawn and Zoey that they should head down to the hospital to see how Ash was handling the situation. Pikachu sat on Brock's shoulder eager to get to the hospital to see his trainer.

"Pika-pi…"

"I'm sure Ash didn't mean to leave you behind, Pikachu." said Brock. "He was just in a rush."

"Do you think Paul will be alright?" Dawn asked.

"Hard to say. I mean we really don't know the extent of his injuries."

"Wow Dawn, I never thought that you would have sympathy for Paul." said Zoey.

"Truthfully… it's not Paul I'm worried about. I'm just worried about the baby. But since the baby needs Paul to survive then I guess I have to worry about him too.

All of a sudden, a large shadow had blocked out the sunlight that was shining on them. When they looked up, they saw that a hot air balloon was passing over. But not just any balloon; this was in the shape of a Meowth. It also had a large net hanging from the bottom and it appeared that something was inside the net. Brock, Dawn, and Zoey were having a hard time making out what it was because of the sunlight. Then, they heard screams coming from down the street.

"Somebody!! Stop them!" yelled a voice.

The group turned in the direction of the voice. They saw the two breeders that were at the Sinnoh Conference earlier. The ones that were taking care of Paul's Pokémon. They came running towards the group trying to follow the balloon.

"Is something wrong?" asked Brock.

"That balloon!" said the man. "Two people and a Meowth stole a couple of Pokémon that we were caring of!"

"The Pokémon aren't ours!" said the woman "They belong to another trainer who collapsed at the conference. A Weavile and a Torterra."

"You're kidding!" they all said in unison.

"Pika!" said Pikachu.

"That's gotta be Team Rocket!" said Dawn.

"And they have Paul's Pokémon." said Zoey.

"We can't let them get away with this!" Brock said. "We have to stop them!"

With that Brock started running after them. Dawn and Zoey soon followed.

"But what about Ash!?" asked Dawn.

"We'll have to check on him later! Hopefully he didn't get in too much trouble!"

* * *

At the hospital…

After about five minutes of wondering around, Ash was completely stumped about what to do. Then all of a sudden, he had another problem on his hands. Two security guards had spotted him.

"There he is!" said one of them.

"You there! Stop!" said the other.

"Oh crap…" Ash said to himself as he started to run again.

However he didn't get very far until he tripped over a laundry cart and fell flat on his face. He also happened to fall right in front of one of the doctors.

"Oh my goodness. Are you okay?" she asked.

"Uh… yeah I guess so." he said as he weakly smiled at her.

"No we've got you!" said security guard #1 as he lift up Ash by the collar of his jacket.

"I don't think I'm okay any more…" Ash whimpered.

"What's this all about?" the doctor asked.

"This boy snuck in with out proper permission." said security guard #2.

"Please you gotta listen! I'm just looking for a friend of mine. His name's Paul. He collapsed at the Sinnoh Conference."

"Paul…?" said the doctor.

"Save it for the police station." said SG #1 as he was putting him in hand cuffs.

"Young man, what is your name?" she asked him.

"It's Ash. Ash Ketchum."

The doctor's eyes widened.

"Let's go." said SG #2

"Wait a minute." said the doctor. "Please let him go. I need to speak with him."

Ash then got a bright smile on his face.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but we have orders to take him away. We'll get in trouble if we let him go."

"Look, I'll take all the blame for everything that's happened. Just please let him go. I'll take care of him from here."

"Well alright."

The guard then removed the hand cuffs.

"You're pretty lucky kid." The two guards then walked off.

"Wow, thank you so much. You're the nicest person here. I don't know how to repay you."

"You can repay me by letting me ask you a few questions."

"Ah, sure."

She then brought Ash into a small private office so that they could talk in secrecy. There was a desk with two chairs on each side. Ash sat on one side and the doctor sat on the other.

"So you're name is Ash, correct?"

"Yeah."

"My name is Dr. Birnbaum. Amy Birnbaum. It's nice to finally meet you." she said while shaking his hand.

"Meet me? How do you know who I am?"

"Paul has told me a lot about you."

"Paul? You know Paul?"

"Yes, ever since he was eight. You see, I'm a private physician of his. He refuses to see any other doctor besides me."

"I see."

"I hope you don't mind my asking. This is a very personal question. But did you happen to engage in sexual intercourse with Paul."

Ash's face then turned bright red.

"This is confidential. I won't tell anyone else."

"Yeah… Once when we were at Mt. Coronet."

"I thought so."

"Look… This may sound completely crazy but…"

"Paul's pregnant, right?"

"How did you know?"

"I'm his doctor remember." she said with a smile. "So I guess he finally got up the courage to tell you."

"Actually… he never told me. My friend had overheard him talking to someone and she told me. He doesn't even know that I know… I'm assuming that person he was talking to… was you."

"Probably. Paul doesn't like sharing secrets with others."

"So wait… Does that mean that Paul has told you about me before? That I was the father of his baby?"

"That's true."

"Is he doing okay? Is he hurt badly? What about the baby?"

"Well I checked and he seems to be doing better. He suffered from stress and fatigue while on the battle field. I tried to get him not to enter but he refused… That's why I decided to come here incase something were to happen which, unfortunately, it did. Most of his injuries came from hitting his head after he fell. A few days in the hospital and he should be okay."

"Phew… good."

"So I take it you and Paul are more than just friends."

"Um well… I think of him as more than a friend. But as for Paul… he doesn't even want me around him. You see… he's mad at me because I didn't want to battle him yesterday at the Pokémon League."

"Why didn't you battle him? Because you knew about the baby?"

"Yeah…"

"I see… Well just give him some time. He'll eventually warm up to you. I know it took me awhile to gain his trust."

"What's he doing now?"

"Right now, he's sleeping. He hasn't come to since he arrived here."

"Is there anyway… I could see him?"

"…I'll see what I can do."

All of a sudden, Ash and the doctor saw a small explosion in the middle of the city out the office window.

"What the heck was that?" asked Ash.

"The fireworks from the stadium I suppose. But this early? Hm…"

* * *

The explosion was actually the power of Pikachu's Thunderbolt sending Team Rocket "Blasting off again".

"I can not believe this happened!!" Jessie yelled as they were flying away. "How in the world did the twerps find us!?"

"Who knows…" said James. "They always appear at the worst time."

"And we always seem to disappear at the best time." said Meowth.

"WOOOOBBBBUFFET!" said Jessie's Wobbuffet.

"Were blasting off again!"

Before Team Rocket were sent blasting off, Brock and the others we able to get Weavile and Torterra to safety. They now found the time to release them from the net. Just then, the male and female breeders from before arrived on the scene.

"Oh you got them back!" the woman said with relief. "Thank you so much."

Brock turned to her and got down on one knee and held her hand.

"Believe me my lovely. It was all well worth our time."

"Uh…" she said nervously.

"My name is Brock, a fellow Pokémon breeder. Perhaps we can exchange tips over a candlelight dinner for two."

Certain enough, Croagunk appeared from its Pokéball and stabbed Brock in the back with Poison Jab. He collapsed on the ground and Croagunk away.

Just then, Dawn noticed something about Weavile and Torterra. Despite being released from the net, they were not lively at all.

"Hey… What's wrong with them? They're not moving…"

"Those people some how got Stun Spore into an aerosol can and sprayed them in the face with it. The effects rendered them helpless and that's why they were so easily stolen" explained the man.

"How horrible." said Zoey.

"Hold on." Brock said. "I think I have something that'll help them."

Brock took off his backpack and looked through it and then pulled out some medicine.

"It's not really an antidote. But it will help take their fevers down. I figure it's better than nothing until you can get them to a Pokémon Center.

"Brock's a great breeder so you have nothing to worry about." Dawn reassured.

"Thank you all so much." said the male breeder. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't shown up."

Brock poured the powder-like substance in each of the Pokémon's mouths. With in seconds, the color in their faces went back to normal.

"Don't worry… You two will be just fine…" Brock said to the two Pokémon.

* * *

Later, Dr. Birnbaum went back to Paul's room to see how he was doing. She was happy to see that Paul's eyes were finally open. She then approached his bedside.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

He was silent for a second.

"A little better… I guess."

"You're disappointed about what happen, aren't you?"

"I was so close. If I just held out for a little longer I could have…"

Paul then clenched his fist tightly.

"The good news is that you should make a full recovery. And your baby appears to be doing fine too."

"Yeah…" he said in a sulk.

"You know, you have a visitor."

"Visitor? Who the hell would wanna visit me? … Oh no… Don't tell me. Not him again."

"He's very worried about you. Won't you just talk to him for a little bit? Besides, now would be a good time to tell him."

"Forget it. I don't ever want to see that loser again. And if I do have this baby, there's no way it's having a loser for a father."

"Please Paul. At least give him a chance to explain himself. He went to all this trouble just to come and see you."

Paul closed his eyes and looked away from the doctor.

"Okay… But just for a minute."

A few seconds later, Ash was called in to see Paul. When Ash entered he had his hat held in his hands. The doctor then left the two boys alone.

"Uh… hey." Ash said shyly.

But Paul wouldn't even look at him.

"Look, to make your trip short, I'm fine. You can go now."

"I'm very glad, but I need to tell you something."

"Well too bad. Goodbye."

"It's about why I forfeited against you…"

Paul then turned his eyes, but not his head, towards Ash.

"You see… I know about your secret…"

Paul's eyes then got wider.

"I know that you are pregnant…"

Paul turned his eyes away from Ash.

"Your doctor was not the one who told me… It was Dawn. She overheard you saying that you were pregnant when we were on the ship. I've known for that long. I just pretended that I didn't know so you wouldn't be upset. I just wanted to wait until you were ready to tell me. But that's why… I didn't want to battle you. Cause I couldn't."

He took a second to respond to Ash's story.

"How spineless…" he muttered

Ash gasped.

"If you were a real trainer, you would have battled me anyway. Did you honestly think I would understand after your sob story? Get out…"

Ash then went under a transformation. He was sick of being nice to Paul and wanted to get his point across the only way Paul would understand.

"I have had it! I'm sick of you being selfish! Don't you even care about the life of your baby!?"

Paul didn't answer.

"Well I do! And since I am the father of this baby, I have a say in what you do!"

"Who ever said it was yours?"

Ash's heart then felt heavy.

"What are you talking about? Dr. Birnbaum said…"

"I don't have to tell her everything. How do you know that there are not others I could have had affairs with?"

"I know that isn't true. You're just trying to drive me away. Is this how you live your life? Being mean to others so that they won't want to be friends with you? Well let me tell you something, it isn't going to work on me. I'm not going to give up on you…"

Paul then smiled sinisterly.

"Well it seems you have a spine after all."

"It's time to stop playing these games Paul. You have a baby on the way whether you like it or not.

* * *

Eek! Paul's playing hard to get! review plz.


	6. Something You just can't Avoid

Here's chapter six. And this one actually had Comashipping! Eh... sort off. Also Appealshipping.

**

* * *

**

**Something You just can't Avoid**

Ash sat in the lobby drinking some tea that Dr. Birnbaum gave him. Though he was relieved that Paul was okay, at the same time he was furious him because of his attitude. He tried hard not to let it bother him but his feelings were hurt. Apparently the old Paul had returned once more. At the moment, he really wanted his friends.

"There you are." said a familiar voice.

Ash looked up and saw Brock, Dawn, Zoey, and Pikachu near the door.

"Pika-pi!" said his Pikachu has he darted up to his trainer.

"Pikachu!" Ash said happily.

Pikachu leaped into Ash's arms and the two gave each other a hug.

"It's so good to see you…"

"Pikachu…"

He looked up at his friends.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Well we got side-tracked when Team Rocket tried to steal Paul's Pokémon." Brock explained.

"What?"

"Don't worry. We got them back."

"That's great! I wish I good tell you that Paul would be grateful…"

"How's he doing?" Zoey asked.

"Fine…"

"You don't sound so happy…" said Dawn.

"It's just… Paul's pulling his little acts again and it's really ticking me off."

"Well does he know that you knew he was pregnant and that you didn't want to battle him because of it?" Brock asked.

"Yes… I told him everything. He said I should have battled him anyway and that I'm… spineless."

"What?"

"And he's also trying to tell me that I'm not the father… It upsets me, but I don't believe him."

"That JERK!" Dawn yelled. "How could he say such horrible things!?"

"Because he's trying to get me to run away… But I'm not going to. I know that deep down he doesn't want me to run away. He's just too proud to admit that he's scared about his pregnancy and that he wants someone to tell him that everything will be okay. And when he wants to admit it, I wanna make sure I'll be there. It's my responsibility."

"Ash…" Brock said quietly.

Back in Paul's hospital room, Dr. Birnbaum was very disappointed in him because of the way he treated Ash. Though, it didn't surprise her at all.

"This really isn't the best way to start off a stable environment for your baby."

Paul didn't say anything.

"Tell me Paul; are there really any more possible fathers? Or are you just saying that to hurt Ash? I need to know."

"Geez, do I have to tell you everything about my personal life?"

"When you called and asked for my help with your situation, I expected you to tell me the whole truth. If you wanted to be dishonest then maybe you should have seen another doctor."

He then gritted his teeth.

"So, are there other possible fathers or not?"

"… No…"

"I thought so… You are the last person on earth I'd expect to be promiscuous. This Ash Ketchum must be very special to you."

"Are you kidding me? That loser means nothing to me. I told you before, I was inebriated and he took advantage of that."

"Ash does not seem like the kind of person that would do that. If he really did take advantage of you, I doubt he'd be so willing to want to help you with your baby."

"Then… I went temporarily insane and agreed to sleep with him. I have no interest in him what so ever. It was a mistake and now he believes that we're soul mates or something. And he's using this baby as an excuse to follow me."

"Paul… you've know since you hit puberty that there was something special about you. You knew that there was a possibility that you would be able to bare children. Ash had no idea about this but you did. You're so lucky that you found a guy that's so accepting of who you are even when you try to drive him away. I just wish that you could see that…

"Hm…"

"Well, I think you should get some more rest. We can discuss this later."

* * *

Ash had decided it was time to tell his mother that he won't be coming home right away as well as the reason why. He had explained everything that had happened over the course of the last two months.

Naturally, his mother was in shock over the news.

"…Mom…? Are you okay…?" he asked over the phone.

It was hard for her to choke back the tears.

"..(sniff)… Not right now… but I will be… eventually… Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I was just trying to get everything straightened out… I'm sorry…"

"…What do you plan to do now?"

"Well… I was planning to try to convince Paul to come home with me… uh if that's okay with you of course."

"Ash, of course it's okay… Though I wish you thought this all through first, you're my baby. And I love you…"

"Thanks Mom… And don't worry. I'm going to do everything I can to support Paul and the baby."

"Ash, listen to me. Taking care of a baby will be the most difficult thing that you will ever do. Just know that this definitely won't be easy. You're going to have to make drastic changes to your life."

"I'm aware. I'm willing to give up what I need to in order to take care of Paul and the baby. Even if it means… giving up on being a Pokémon trainer."

"… Are you sure… that this baby is yours…?"

The memory of what Paul had told him earlier came to thought.

"… Of course I'm sure…"

"I'm so proud of you… This is a very grown-up thing that you're doing. You're becoming the man that I always hoped you would become…" She then started to cry again.

"Please don't cry Mom. Everything will be alright. I promise."

"Alright… Just please call me and let me know what's going on."

"Sure."

"I love you so much. Take care…"

"I love you too Mom… Good-bye…"

Ash hung up the phone and returned to his friends.

"How'd she take it?" Brock asked.

"Not so well… But she did accept everything. She's just a little upset. Hey… where are Dawn and Zoey?"

"They stepped out for some fresh air. Dawn says hospitals give her the chills."

"Pika-pi…" Pikachu said to his trainer.

"Don't worry buddy. Everything will be fine, you'll see." Ash then patted him on the head.

They were then approached by Dr. Birnbaum.

"So here's where you went." she said.

"Oh, Dr. Birnbaum. I'm sorry. Guess I got kind of distracted. Um, this is Brock and my partner Pikachu."

"Nice to meet you." said Brock.

"Pikachu." said Pikachu.

"Nice to meet you all." she said.

"So how's Paul doing?"

"He's resting for right now. I gave him a good talk before he did."

"What did you talk about…?"

"You don't need to worry about a thing. He admitted that you were the only person that he was with."

Even though he felt that Paul was lying to him, it still felt good to hear that.

"So, what have you been doing?"

"Well I called my mom and told her everything. She's a little shocked right now but she said that she would be okay…"

"That's good."

Then they all heard a beeping sound. It was Dr. Birnbaum's pager.

"Oop. Sorry but I have to excuse myself. I need to see another patient. I guess I'll see you later then."

"Bye." said Ash and Brock.

A few minutes later, Dawn and Zoey returned. But something was odd. Both of them were giggling hysterically. Also Dawn had her hat in her head and her hair, as well as Zoey's, was messy.

"Whoa, what happened to you two?" Ash asked.

"Nothing…" Dawn said while trying to silence her giggle fit. "Oh no! My hair's a mess. I better go fix it. Be right back."

"Uh… I'll come too." said Zoey.

As the two were leaving yet again, Zoey looked at Ash. She then gave him a wink and a "thumbs up". Ash realized what that meant and winked back at her.

_"Good for you Zoey."_ Ash thought.

"Um… okay, did I miss something?" Brock asked.

That night, Zoey had to head back to her home town to prepare for her next contest journey. Before she left Dawn gave her a hug and even began crying on her shoulder. She said that she would miss her dearly. Zoey comforted her for a few minutes and said good bye to her as well as Ash and Brock. She told Ash that she hoped things would work out between him and Paul.

Ash decided to stay at the hospital instead of going back to the Pokémon Center with his friends. Pikachu wanted to stay with him so he did not head back to the Pokémon Center either.

Dr. Birnbaum allowed Ash to sleep on a couch in the lobby near her office. As he made himself comfortable, Pikachu curled up next to him and went to sleep. Ash hoped that tomorrow would be the day that he could have serious talk with Paul about their future.

* * *

The next morning, Ash was awakened from a deep sleep by Dr. Birnbaum. When he looked up at her, he could tell by the look on her face that she was distressed by something.

"Doctor, what's the matter?" he asked.

"It's Paul. I don't know what happened but… he's gone."

"What!? Gone!?"

Ash rushed to the room where Paul was staying and saw that he wasn't there.

"He took all of his things too…" she told him. "He must have snuck out in the early morning. I don't know how he could have been missed. Where could he be heading?"

"Hold on. I think I have an idea."

Ash remembered that the breeders at the stadium still had his Pokémon. He knew that Paul wouldn't leave two of his strongest Pokémon behind. He immediately headed down there with Pikachu on his shoulder, running as fast as he could.

When he got there, he found the breeders right away. He told his story and they answered him.

"Oh yeah, he was here an hour ago." said the male breeder. "He picked up both of his Pokémon."

"Do you know where he was headed?"

"Sorry but I have no idea. He just said thanks and left."

Ash then decided that it was time to ask his Staravia for its help.

"Okay Staravia, I need you to look for Paul for me. But don't let him notice you, understand?"

"Starr starr…"

The starling Pokémon then flew away. Ash decided to look around the small shopping center to see if Paul may have gone to pick up some supplies. He didn't find Paul but he did find Brock and Dawn.

"Ash?" Brock said. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, I thought you were staying at the hospital with Paul." said Dawn.

"Paul's gone! He left the hospital. I'm trying to look for him."

"Oh boy…" said Brock.

"Do you think you guys good help me look?"

"Sure."

A few minutes later, Staravia returned. It appeared that he found Paul.

"Starr! Starr!" he squawked.

"Did you find him?" Ash asked desperately.

"Starr!" it agreed.

Ash, Dawn, and Brock followed Staravia down to the docks. Ash realized that Paul must be trying to board a ship and leave the island. They then heard the ships horn blow signaling that it was ready to leave. Ash ran even faster.

Down by the dock, Paul was indeed about to board a boat. It was much smaller then the one they used to get to the island. Paul walked up the plank and on to the boat. He went to the stern of the ship and looked at the harbor. That's when he saw someone running at an incredible speed towards the boat.

"STOP THE BOAT!" the person yelled.

When the person came into focus, Paul couldn't believe who it was.

"No…fucking…way…"

The boat was now leaving the port. Ash continued to scream at the ship.

"Stop please!" he yelled.

"Pika!!" yelled his Pikachu.

Paul saw Ash run at the dock at full speed. If he didn't stop in time, he would fall into the ocean.

"Is he crazy?" Paul asked himself.

"Paul!"

Ash jumped off the dock in an attempt to jump on the lower deck of the ship. He didn't quite make it and ended up smacking right into the railing. But he managed to grab on to the railing before falling into the ocean. He was now hanging off the back off the ship.

"Oh my god, you idiot!" Paul yelled. He then punched an emergency stop button near where he was standing.

Brock and Dawn finally caught up and saw Ash and Pikachu hanging off the back of the ship.

"Ash!!" Brock and Dawn screamed.

"Stop that boat!" Brock shouted.

Ash quickly realized that he didn't have the strength to hang on to the railing. His grip was slowly slipping.

"Ah… Sorry Pikachu… for getting you into this…"

"Pika-pi…"

He then finally lost his grip and let go of the railing. But then he felt someone grab his arm. He looked up to view his rescuer.

"Uh, Paul!"

Paul had reached over the railing and was holding Ash's arm with both of his hands.

"You dumb-ass!" he yelled. "I have every right to just let you drown… Now hurry up and start helping before you fall!"

Ash told Pikachu to climb on the ship and help Paul pull him up. Once on the ship, Pikachu grabbed on to Paul's pant leg and started pulling. Ash tried his hardest to push himself up but his legs no longer had the strength left after all the running he did.

"Just… let go…" he said. "I can't pull myself up…"

"No! I'm not a quitter like you!"

The ship finally came to a stop after Paul hit the emergency button. The captain of the ship left his position to see what the situation was.

Seeing that Paul wasn't going to listen, Ash continued to try to climb up the ship, but to no avail. Now Paul was becoming fatigued and was losing strength as well.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn!?" Ash yelled. "Just let go!"

"Shut-up stupid!"

Soon, Paul lost his strength. But because he didn't let go of Ash's arm, he went overboard with him. The two boys, as well as Pikachu, fell about 10 feet into the ocean.

Brock and Dawn saw what happened as they approached the dock.

"Ash! Paul!" Brock screamed.

"Prinplup, help!" Dawn said as she through a Pokéball. "Save them!"

"Prin!" said the penguin Pokémon as he emerged from his ball. He then dived into the water.

Paul's head emerged from the water as well as Pikachu's. But Ash was no where to be seen.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu yelled.

Paul looked around him and saw something under the water. It was Ash who was now knocked unconscious from the fall. Paul reached down and grabbed the collar of his jacket to get his head above the water.

Soon Prinplup reached them and was able to bring the three of them back to shore where Dawn and Brock were waiting.

Paul looked away from Dawn and Brock as the two were busy trying to get Ash to wake up.

"Ash!" Brock said as he was shaking him. "Come on buddy… Wake up!"

"Please…" said Dawn.

"Pika-pi…" said a worried Pikachu.

It took about a minute but Ash coughed up some water, sat up, and gasped for air.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu said in relief.

"Thank god…" said Brock.

"Oh man…" Ash said as he held his head. "What happened?"

"You and Paul fell off the ship. I sent out Prinplup to come and get you guys." Dawn explained.

"Prinplup!" said her Pokémon.

"Paul!?"

Ash then looked around him quickly and saw Paul sitting off to the side, staring at the ground. He was relieved to see he was unharmed.

"Hey! Is everyone okay!" yelled the captain from the ship.

"Yes we're fine over here!" Dawn replied.

Ash was too busy staring at Paul to hear what the captain was saying. Then, Brock whispered something to his ear.

"After you two fell in, Paul pulled you up from underneath the water and made sure your head stayed above it until Prinplup brought you to shore. He saved your life."

"He… did…?"

"I'm now seeing what you've been explaining to me. There is a part of him that really cares about you."

Ash then scooted over next to Paul.

"Paul…? Are you okay?"

"What the hell were you thinking?" he said. "Do you realize you could have killed yourself?"

Paul then stood up.

"Now I have to wait for the next ship."

"Wait a minute!" Ash said.

Paul turned and looked at him.

"Why did you save me? Why did you risk your life to save mine?"

"Hm… None of your business.

"Paul, I came here to stop you from leaving. You can't just keep running away from me your whole life."

Paul just kept walking.

"And what about Dr. Birnbaum? She's worried sick about you. I know that she must mean something to you if she's the only one you share your secrets with. You can't just leave without saying anything to her."

He stopped.

"If I could take it all back… I would have never brought her in to this mess…"

"It's too late for that. You now have a baby growing inside your stomach. You just can't keep avoiding people who want to help you. So please… Just go back to the hospital. Not just for yourself but for your baby."

Paul then stared into Ash's desperate eyes. Once he did, he found it hard to look away. He wasn't so sure that he wanted to leave anymore.

* * *

Will Paul leave...? stay tuned! Please review


	7. Paul's Secrets

chapter 7. Thsi one talks about Paul's childhood and believe me, it's not pretty.**

* * *

**

Paul's Secrets

Amazingly, Paul had agreed to go back to the hospital like Ash and everyone else wanted him to. Once there he apologized to Dr. Birnbaum for worrying her. 

Later in the day, Dr. Birnbaum sat the two boys in her office to discuss what they would all be doing during Paul's pregnancy. They waited there for her to finish with another patient.

Paul had thrown his jacket in the wash so he was not wearing it when he entered the office. When Paul sat down in the chair, Ash noticed the small bulge in his stomach showing through his black turtle-neck. This was the first time Ash was able to see it because it always remained hidden under Paul's jacket. The sight made him shiver a little in awe.

Of course, Paul was as quiet as ever. To break the eerie silence between them, Ash decided to start a conversation.

"Um, just to let you know, I already told my mother about this. She says she'll help support us in anyway that she could."

"Great… Why not tell the whole world while you're at it…"

"Hey, she's my mom. She needs to know these things. Just like your parents need to know."

This line struck a nerve in Paul.

"Oh please! What good are parents anyway?"

"How can you say that…? Parents are there to take care of you…"

"…"

"You did tell your parents… right?"

"They don't need to know…"

"Paul you have to. They love you and would want to know."

"First of all, don't assume everyone's parents are saints just like your mom. It's not like that at all."

"I don't understand."

"My parents don't give a damn about me. They never have and they never will."

Ash then looked at Paul with a concerned look.

"My so called "mother" is nothing but a crack-whore. As a kid she just left me in the house alone while she slept with some stranger for crack money. As for my father, he's a raging alcoholic. Everyday he'd have at least ten beers and then would beat the crap out of me when something I did angered him. And the disturbing part about it is that I preferred being with him over my mother because he at least gave me some form of attention. Even if that attention included breaking an empty beer bottle over my head."

Ash found it hard to not cry over Paul's horrific story. He started to slightly sob as he put his hand over his eyes.

"What the hell are you crying for? It didn't happen to you. Over the years I learned that crying never solved any of my problems so I just stopped. After that, anytime my mom left me alone or my dad would beat me, I would just go numb. I wouldn't cry anymore…"

It all made sense to Ash now. Why Paul would always keep himself isolated from other people and why he wouldn't treat his Pokémon like his friends. It's all because of what he went through as a child. He abandoned all feelings of happiness or sadness and only felt anger or nothing at all. But Ash knew that there was a part of Paul deep inside that longed for love and attention. He saw that side of him when they were at Mt. Coronet. There is where he saw that small child that just wanted to be loved. It was now his mission to finally set that child free.

"Paul… I can't even begin to say how sorry I am that you had to go through that. I-I had no idea."

"Yeah…yeah…" he said with an annoyed tone in his voice.

"That must have been so awful… I can't imagine what must have been going through your mind when your parents would do those things to you. And I know it's not much consolation but, I'd like to help you through this…"

"Don't you get it? It's too late for that. What's done is done."

"It's never too late to help someone. You may not show it or believe it but… you're in pain inside…"

"That's your opinion…"

Ash then stretched his hand to Paul's arm.

"Please Paul… I'd like to…"

Once he touched his arm, Paul was quick to push him away.

"Don't touch me! I told you, there's no point. Why don't you just give up?"

"Because I can't stand to see you in such pain. And I don't believe that you believe people should give up when it seems hopeless. Don't you remember what happened today? Even though I was bound to fall off the ship, you wouldn't give up on trying your hardest to pull me on deck with you."

"That's hardly a comparison. I just wanted to get you up there so I could punch some sense into you once you were on."

"I know that isn't true Paul. As I said before, I'm not falling for your little games anymore."

"Hm… Think what you want."

Just then, Dr. Birnbaum returned to her office.

"Sorry about that, boys. I just needed to…"

She stopped speaking when he saw Ash was wiping tears from his eyes.

"Ash, are you alright?"

"Um, y-yeah. I'm fine. I just yawned not too long ago."

She then looked at Paul who had his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Okay. Well, I just wanted to discuss with you the plans I thought of and see what your opinions were."

Then she opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. She then unrolled it on the desk. Both Ash and Paul saw that it was a picture of some sort of resort.

"What is this place?" asked Ash.

"It's an old vacation home that belonged to my grandfather. I inherited it after he passed away. It's a ten bedroom mansion that's in the center of land. It's located on top of a hill that overlooks Veilstone City and the ocean. Over the years, I have been converting part of the mansion into my own medical center. My plans were to give patients the option of staying in this nice home to be taken care of rather than spending time in the hospital. And, if it is okay with the two of you, I'd like Paul to be my first patient there. Being that it's best for Paul's pregnancy remain a secret, I thought it would be a good place where he can be cared for without attracting attention."

"Hey that sounds like a good idea." Ash said.

"But it is Paul's decision over all." she said as she looked at Paul.

Paul still had his head down and arms crossed. He appeared to be deep in thought. If he agreed to it, he'd have to spend the next seven months held up in some mansion.

"What do you think Paul? she asked.

"I don't know…"

"If he'd like he can come live with me and my mother." Ash suggested.

"Well I know I'm definitely not doing that…"

"Did you happen to have any ideas you'd like to share?" the doctor asked Paul.

Paul shook his head in disagreement.

"Paul, we have to think of something." Ash said. "It's not like you can go around traveling like you did. You need a place to relax."

"God! Will you all quit breathing down my neck!? It's all not as easy as you make it out to be!"

Paul then decided to excuse himself and left the office. Ash soon followed fearing that he would leave.

"Wait Paul!"

"Relax. I'm not running away." he said in a condescending tone.  
"I just want to go back to my room. I need my space…"

Ash then felt Dr. Birnbaum place a hand on his shoulder.

"I think its best that you leave Paul alone for a while. It's not easy for him to accept help from others. You need to give him some time to warm up to the idea."

"Yeah… I guess you're right…"

"So, would you mind telling me the REAL reason you were crying when I entered the office?"

"Um… Well… It's just that, Paul told me about his life at home."

"Oh… I see."

"I've never heard something so sad… Even though I was crying, Paul didn't even shed a tear. He said he was basically all cried out."

"Well when someone goes through what Paul went through for so long, they tend to abandon their feelings."

"Yeah…"

"I tried to get him to see a psychiatrist about it but he refused. He said that it would be 'useless'."

"That sounds like Paul alright."

* * *

Back in Paul's hospital room, he was lying on the bed and he had his arms folded behind his head. He was staring blankly at the ceiling trying to count all the little holes in the tiles. A few minutes afterwards, he moved his arm so that he could place his hand on his growing stomach. 

_"Seems to be bigger than it was a week ago."_ he thought. _"Pretty soon I won't be able to hide it with my jacket."_

He then turned onto his side.

_"Am I being too hard on them? I mean, they're only trying to help me…"_

Meanwhile, Ash decided to discuss with his friends the plan that Dr. Birnbaum had.

"Wow, this seems like the perfect opportunity for Paul." Brock said.

"Yeah. I can't believe he's not sure about it." said Dawn. "Even I want to go there."

"Well he does have a lot of things on his mind right now." said Ash. "We just have to be patient and give him time to think about it. Even though it sounds convenient, I'm sure you wouldn't like to have to stay there for seven months without leaving, would you Dawn?"

"Guess not. You have a point there."

"Pikachu." said his Pikachu.

"Do you think you should tell your mom about this?" Brock asked.

"Mmm, not yet. I just wanna wait a little longer and see what Paul wants to do. He wasn't too happy about me telling her that he was pregnant in the first place."

"Why would he be mad about that?"

"Well it's because…"

He was about to tell them about Paul's relationship with his own parents, but then he realized that it would be rude to do so without his permission.

"Because… he's embarrassed. Why else?"

"I'm curious to what he told his parents. Did he say anything to you Ash?" asked Dawn.

"Uh… no…"

* * *

Exhausted from the day's events, Paul had fallen asleep. But it wasn't exactly a peaceful sleep. He began to have flashbacks from his days in elementary school. 

He was in the school yard sitting by himself as he always done. He carried a small book with him that he wrote poetry in kanji characters in. He had learned Japanese from his nanny, Tsukiko, who came into his life when he was three years old. His parents decided to fire her after they couldn't come up with the money to pay her.

Paul was then approached by three of his classmates.

_"Well, if it isn't loner boy."_ said one of the boys.

He then looked up at them.

_"Why are you always by yourself?"_ asked the second boy._ "Do you think you're better than us or something?"_

_"N…no. I just…"_

_"And what is this crap you're always writing."_ the third boy said as he ripped the book from Paul's hand.

_"Hey! Be careful with that."_

_"What's this weird writing? Chinese!? People here speak English ya know!"_

Paul responded with a hostile look.

_"No wonder no one likes you!" _said the other boy._ "You're so weird!"_

_"Can I please have my book back now?"_ Paul asked.

_"Um, let me think about it… NO!" _the boy laughed.

_"I'm not playing! Give it back!"_

Paul attempted to grab his book from the boy. But the obviously taller boy held the book in the air so he couldn't reach it. The boy then tossed it to his friend and then he passed it to his other friend. This pattern continued for a few seconds. When Paul tried to reach for his book again, the boy pushed him to the ground hard.

_"Ouf!"_ he grunted when he hit the ground.

The boy then took his book and threw it on the ground. It was facing downwards while still open. He then stepped on the book and rubbed it into the dirt with his foot.

_"Hey look at that. I think I just fixed it!"_

He then picked up the book and threw it at Paul's shoulder.

_"See ya, LOSER!!"_

The three boys then started laughing manically while leaving Paul on the ground with his dirt covered book.

Paul picked up and became horrified when he saw that the boy had nearly ruined the page that Tsukiko had written on before she had left him. He started to cry as it was one of the only things he had to remember her by. Paul then slammed his fist in the ground before getting to his feet and walking away.

* * *

Paul then awoke from his unpleasant dream. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes after he sat up in his bed. He then went to reach for his backpack that lay by his bedside. Inside it was the small black book that contained his early kanji poetry. The very same one from his dream. He then turned to the page that the boy had stepped on. It was still dirty but at least he was able to tape up the ripped pieces. 

"_Always look to tomorrow. You will always find something good"_, is what Tsukiko's message read. Earlier on, Paul had tried to go by this saying. But since tomorrow always seemed to be worse each day, he basically stopped believing in it. Still, it was nice to have something that she had given him.

Because of Paul's experience with the children at his school, he refused to make friends with anyone. He felt that all kids his age were that way I didn't want to have anything to do with them. What started off as shyness became a complete disregard to make any friends. To him, there were no such thing as friends, and he wasn't about to change his mind now.

* * *

Poor Paul ... ;;

Review plz.


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